Sunday, March 11, 2012

Jack White Chattanooga, TN 3/10/12

Jack White hasn't released his debut solo album yet, so I was not expecting to know most of the set list, figuring it would be all new stuff with some deep covers that I'd probably not heard before.  Wrong.  He played mostly White Stripes material like the show opening "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "Hotel Yorba," and "My Doorbell."  Backed by an all female band, he just ripped us apart.  At one point he and his violinist were trading licks and kickin ass.  They also played The Raconteurs' "Top Yourself" and The Dead Weather's "I Cut Like a Buffalo," from his two other bands.  I think he's taken over the title of "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" since the demise of James Brown.  It wouldn't have surprised me if he pulled out a little "Portland, Oregon" from the Loretta Lynn album, Van Lear Rose, of which he produced and performed, but no dice.  I believe they jammed for about an hour and a half, but it felt like ten minutes.  Towards the end of the night he pulled out "Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)" off of my favorite WS album, De Stijl.  Then it was time for "Ball and Biscuit" and he blew the doors off the joint.  We (the whole crowd) couldn't help but to start screaming cheers that was almost as loud as the squealing guitar during the slayed solo.  According to the guy behind us, he closed the night with a cover of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene."  There's your deep track.  I wasn't so fortunate to have him bump into me this time, but I think I prefer him on stage, anyway.

During these recent, tragic times, I needed to step back and get away for a bit.  Who better to help me through than Jack.  I encourage everyone to find something in this world  that makes you feel so good that every hair on your body stands on end, as if you're being poked by needles from the inside out, but in a good way.  For me, as you can tell, its live music.  Concerts have gotten me through the roughest of times when hopelessness invades your soul and you believe there's no way out.  Find that "thing" and embrace it, because without it, life can easily seem frivolous.

RIP Cullen


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